Pell to front Royal Commission

Australia’s most senior Catholic figure, Cardinal George Pell, will give evidence today to the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sex Abuse.

Cardinal Pell’s role in setting up a Catholic Church compensation scheme for victims of pedophile priests will be scrutinised.

While he was Archbishop of Melbourne in 1996, the Melbourne archdiocese decided to respond to growing allegations of child sex abuse by its clergy, by setting up the group now known as Melbourne Reponse

The group has been analysed at the Royal Commission this week.

The church considered creating a legal entity in 1996 that could be sued by victims, but designed the Melbourne Response compensation scheme instead.

Cardinal Pell told the royal commission earlier this year he believed the church should now create an entity that could be sued.